89. The Truth of the Ring
89. The Truth of the Ring
"That's strange..."
Yu Ha-yeon lowered her gaze.
There, a small red ring was glowing faintly.
Unlike the ring Han Si-jun wore, this one had several extra functions built in. That was exactly why the situation puzzled her.
"It's supposed to glow when it detects danger, but nothing even happened...?"
One of the ring's features: when the wearer is judged to be in danger, a signal is sent to the other wearer. The ring glows. The more severe the danger, the brighter it shines.
Yu Ha-yeon had returned to her room after finishing training. She lay on her bed and mulled it over.
"Is Han Si-jun lying to me...? Or is the ring lying...?"
Hmm.
Wasn't it far more likely that Han Si-jun was the one lying?
Han Si-jun had thoroughly demolished her trust in him—probably because he'd told far too many lies. By now, Yu Ha-yeon trusted the ring more than she trusted Han Si-jun.
"Still, he did pick up the phone, so it's probably nothing... right?"
Logically, it was nothing. A perfectly reasonable conclusion.
"But I'm still worried..."
Emotions were a different matter. Yu Ha-yeon's head understood, but her heart refused to accept it. So she moved on to the next step.
"I'll have to install a CCTV in Han Si-jun's room later."
It was a direct invasion of Han Si-jun's privacy, but Yu Ha-yeon felt neither embarrassed nor guilty.
"I already gave him one free pass, so this much is fine... isn't it?"
From the moment she had tolerated Han Si-jun's straying, Yu Ha-yeon was practically a bodhisattva incarnate. She knew Han Si-jun wouldn't be able to complain even if he caught her. Having settled that in her mind, she resolved to install the CCTV another day.
Still lying in bed, Yu Ha-yeon picked up her phone and opened the gallery. Spread before her were photos of cherished memories taken with Han Si-jun. Looking at them, she murmured quietly.
"Han Si-jun is weak. I need to protect him."
CCTV, in the name of protection.
But Yu Ha-yeon didn't know. She didn't know that Han Si-jun was currently cohabiting with Ban Ha-na. She didn't realize that her belief that she had a full grasp on Han Si-jun was an illusion. The deeper you dug, the more of Han Si-jun's actions kept surfacing. Yu Ha-yeon didn't yet know that she was still only at the entrance.
***
Break season.
For about a week, students spend time with their families, restoring their exhausted bodies and minds. Foods they hadn't eaten. Conversations with family they hadn't had. They unwind the weeks of accumulated words and savor the happiness.
And once that week is over, the students return to the academy and throw themselves back into training. Senses dull if not constantly sharpened. Muscles soften easily. The break was intended for rest, but the reality was that if you truly rested, you fell behind.
That was why students suffered a massive amount of academic stress. The reason the academy had such extensive facilities was to help relieve that stress.
In other words, even during the break, quite a few students stayed at the academy.
Ban Ha-na and I were currently walking to the club room, summoned by the club president.
"Why is the club meeting during break...?"
"Si-jun! It's school! School!"
Ban Ha-na was as excited as a little kid heading to an amusement park. Was coming to school after a while really that fun? I'd always hated going to school, so I couldn't comprehend it at all.
"Hm-hmm~"
Humming to herself, we walked through the warm sunshine and arrived at the club room. Yu Ha-yeon was already there.
"Han Si-jun, you're late."
"...I'm five minutes early."
"I came fifteen minutes early."
Hmph. Yu Ha-yeon turned her head away with a pout. She was sulking because I'd told her to go ahead to the club room first.
'I didn't know Ha-na would take that long to get ready either...'
Right before we were about to head out after finishing all preparations, Ban Ha-na went to wash her hands. Then a small incident erupted.
'Kyaaak...! Si-jun...!'
'Wh-what's wrong...!?'
I rushed into the bathroom, and the first thing I saw was a fierce jet of water. The shower was spraying wildly, and Ban Ha-na was pressing her hand over it, begging me for help.
'S-Si-jun...! The water...!'
Obviously water comes out when you turn the faucet. It seemed Ha-na had turned the faucet to the shower setting without realizing it. All her earlier efforts to get ready were completely waterlogged.
That was why we came out late.
Yu Ha-yeon looked at me and asked with curiosity, "Han Si-jun. Why are you holding your hands like that?"
"Huh? Like what?"
"You've got them behind your back."
That was, naturally, because I was wearing two rings on my hand—Yu Ha-yeon's ring and Ban Ha-na's ring, both on the ring finger of my left hand. If anyone spotted them during club, I'd be distracted the whole time, walking on eggshells. I'd explain the rings later.
With that thought, I took my seat while keeping my hands hidden. "Just striking a dignified pose."
"You're not an old man. Honestly..."
Yu Ha-yeon let it slide, her expression indifferent. That was a relief. I'd gotten past her without getting caught.
"Okay, is everyone here?"
At noon sharp, Student Council President Jin Ye-sol, having concluded that all the club members had gathered, spoke up.
Not everyone was here yet, though. Lee Seol-ha hadn't arrived.
President Jin Ye-sol provided the answer. "Seol-ha had something come up and couldn't make it today. Everyone else is here, so shall I start the briefing?"
A situation? She'd never mentioned that to me. Whenever we had time, Lee Seol-ha and I exchanged messages. But she hadn't once mentioned anything about the club. What kind of situation could it be? I'd have to ask her later.
Pushing the concern aside, I focused on the president's explanation.
"First, you all know last week's patrols ended, right? We didn't catch the culprit, but it looks like the crimes have stopped because they saw us out there. The reports cut off completely. All the first-years, good work. A round of applause!"
Clap, clap, clap.
The second- and third-year seniors applauded. Since I had absorbed the Mask of Color, it seemed crime reports were no longer coming in from the park.
Once the long ovation ended—
Bang!
Jin Ye-sol slammed the central table, regaining authority. She looked like she had something serious to say.
"Anybody here seen the news lately?"
Seen the news.
At her words, many of the students nodded. Of course, I hadn't seen the news and had no idea, and apparently neither had Yu Ha-yeon.
"Ha-na, did you see the news?"
"Yeah! The news said a UFO appeared in the sky over Busan! I saw that!"
"...I see."
Most phenomena currently speculated to be UFOs were actually caused by awakeners' unique abilities. It looked like Ban Ha-na had been watching fake news.
Whether President Jin Ye-sol had ignored Ban Ha-na's voice or simply hadn't heard it, I couldn't tell. She continued with her explanation of the news.
"As you all know, an unusual mana fluctuation was detected near Seoul. You're aware of that, right?"
"Yes, I saw on the news that some strange mana was detected."
A male club member chimed in agreement. Lee Won-gyu, was it? Anyway, a senior one year above.
"Exactly. The mana fluctuation sighted near NAVI Building. I find it suspicious."
A suspicious mana fluctuation near NAVI Building. The true identity of that fluctuation was probably the Episode 3 boss. The place where I got my nutritional supplements, and where my bad connection with Han Yu-wol began. The Back Alley. It seemed mana had been leaking there, as if the Episode 3 boss's growth period had ended.
Lee Won-gyu promptly countered Jin Ye-sol's claim of it being suspicious. "But didn't they say it was just a brief disturbance from a failed NAVI experiment?"
"Officially, yes. But I'm telling you, it's suspicious."
It was definitely suspicious. If it were a failed experiment, the mana would have emanated from NAVI Building, not from a back alley.
Jin Ye-sol was the sort of person who doubted everything and investigated relentlessly. She, of course, hadn't missed a gap like this.
"Hmm... when you put it that way, it does sound persuasive..."
"Maybe NAVI tried to cover something up. That's what I think. Especially something villain-related."
Jin Ye-sol speculated that it was villain-related. Strictly speaking, Episode 3 had no villain involvement—not if we were talking about past heroes, anyway. Still, the boss's actions this episode weren't so different from a villain's, so it didn't sound entirely wrong.
Jin Ye-sol rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. After a moment, she turned to the room and asked, "What do you all think? About this incident."
"..."
No one answered. Think about what? There's nothing to go on. That was probably what the students were thinking. Asking that was no different from handing them a blank white sheet of paper and saying, "Look at the lines and draw by following them!"
Silence hung over the club room.
"Hehe..."
Ban Ha-na had no thoughts at all.
"Han Si-jun, you have dust on your shoulder."
Yu Ha-yeon had zero interest in the question.
'...This is a bust.'
The question was way too unreasonable—Jin Ye-sol wanted us to create something from nothing. And it was practically lunchtime.
In this atmosphere, I spoke up to clear the air. "I think something will happen over there in about three days."
"...Your basis?"
Basis. Jin Ye-sol looked at me with earnest eyes. I gave Jin Ye-sol an earnest answer. "I saw it in a dream."
"..."
"..."
Silence fell over the club room once again. Well, I told the truth, so what? The window for Episode 3 really was about to open soon.
'The mood was dead, so I didn't have much choice...'
Most students were experiencing rumbling stomachs. Jin Ye-sol had called everyone at noon on the dot, so most hadn't eaten lunch. If she'd kept talking, it was clear another hour or two would pass. Because of her utter lack of consideration, I'd stepped up as the lightning rod.
Jin Ye-sol looked at me coldly. "...If nothing happens in three days, Junior Han Si-jun is out of the club. Today's meeting ends here. My interest has waned."
Jin Ye-sol, sensing the mood had completely soured, declared the end of the meeting that every student had been desperately hoping for.
-I was starving, thanks.
-If you ever need anything, let me know...
Seniors filed out, giving me looks of gratitude as they passed. It seemed like I'd earned a black mark with Jin Ye-sol, but a good image with the regular club members.
"Let's go eat too."
"Yay!"
"Okay."
As we headed to the campus cafeteria, I thought about how to handle Episode 3 and what to do about Na Yu-na. Episode 3 involved her and her family's company. Picturing the Back Alley, I walked on.